A large number of youth in Zamfara on Tuesday protested against the recurring bandit attacks, killings, abductions and other insecurity issues in the state.

The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (THEICIR) in a statement on Wednesday said the protesting youth blocked the Gusau-Kaura Namoda highway at the Sakajiki community.

According to ICIR, the bandits abducted women from the village after killing several others and setting many houses on fire.

They also allegedly used a Police patrol vehicle (Hilux) they snatched to loot foodstuffs from the community.

“The community has since been deserted by its people, with houses, schools, mosques, and shops spared by the bandits’ inferno shut by owners,” the ICIR further reported.

According to the report, residents said that the bandits had attacked the village on Monday night and allegedly killed one Mobile Police officer.

They added that the hoodlums snatched a Police patrol vehicle, among other atrocities they committed, before returning two days later.

The youth of the community thereafter decided to troop to the highway at dawn on Tuesday, preventing motorists and other road users from moving for several hours.

They barricaded the road with timber logs and stones and were unmoved by the arrival of Police and military officers.

The youth also reportedly shunned the security officers’ pleas to vacate the road, including repeated promises to take more drastic measures to restore peace to the state.
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